Ski binding



3. LAND ylihHULiESa Jan. 9, 1940. T. ELLIOTT SKI BINDING Filed Jan. 27, 1937 I A 1 I 7$ w w m E n w o 3% w. C T b .LAND VEHKULESB Patented Jan. 9, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE .SKI BINDING Theodore Elliott, Winchester, Mass. Application January 27, 1937, Serial No. 122,595

1 Claim.

This invention relates to skis and ski bindings for use therewith.

In the art of skiing it is essential that means be provided for securing the shoe of the user to the ski in such a manner that, while there may be reasonable freedom of movement of the shoe when the foot is moved as in walking, no lateral movement of the shoe with relation to the ski be permitted. This absence of lateral movement is necessary to insure proper control of the ski.

For the best results in down hill running it has been found desirable by those skilled in the art to maintain their weight distribution in such a way that the heel and sole both bear against the ski. There is a tendency, however, at times to place more weight on the toes than is proper and this usually causes the heels tolift. Therefore, means for restraining the heels from lifting from the skis have been found helpful in maintaining balance.

Various devices have been employed to achieve this result, among them being a spring extending from the upper portion of the heel of the shoe diagonally downward and rearward to the ski. One of the shortcomings of this device, however, is that it makes quick disengagement of the shoe from the ski difficult in event of a fall.

One of the objects of my invention is, therefore, to provide a simple and inexpensive means for attaching the shoe to the ski which provides rigidity, absence of lateral movement, permits raising of the heel when necessary but at the same time has means for continuously urging the heel of the shoe toward the ski.

Another object of my invention is to provide a ski binding which has all of the foregoing attributes and at the same time includes adjustable means which will enable the force urging the heel of the shoe toward the ski to be varied through a substantial range. A; still further object of my invention is to provide a ski binding which is capable of being readily adjusted to enable it to be used with shoes of varying sizes.

Other objects and accomplishments of my invention will appear as the description proceeds with the aid of the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of my binding mounted on a ski, the binding being in the position it would assume when in use, the shoe however being omitted for clarity;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of my binding when in use;

a ski on which is mounted adjustable toe clamps I 4 secured in position by screws 6. These clamps fare illustrative only and any available type of clamp may be substituted therefor. The purpose of toe clamps is to position properly the sole of the shoe with respect to the ski without 'restrictmg vertical movement of the heel. A

strap 8 is customarily used to hold the toe within the confines of a clamp of this type, although some toe clamps are arranged to grip the sole, thus obviating the need of a strap.

Mounted on either side of the ski are bars l0 having their ends l2 offset so as to provide spaces [4 between the main portion of the bars and the side of the ski. Along the lower edges of bar I0 are a series of notches I6 which are for the purpose of providing definite longitudinal locations of rings I8 slidably positioned on the bar [0.

Extending through the rings [8 on both sides of the ski are strong flexible wire rods 20 which for purposes of increased flexibility and ease in manufacture may be in two or more pieces and hinged together as at 22. The rear ends of rods 20 are connected with the generally semicircular or U-shaped coiled spring 24. The type of connection between rods 20 and spring 24 shown in the drawing has given particularly good results as it has eliminated the breakage now common where threaded plugs have been used in the ends of the spring.

Spring 24, I have found, must be made in a particular manner if satisfactory results are to be obtained. Heretofore it has been customary, when a heel spring of this general formation has been used, to make the spring of ordinary spring steel, plated to prevent subsequent corrosion. In practice, it has been found that an unexpectedly high percentage of breakage has taken place in such. springs, due, not to overloading, but to internal deterioration caused by acids left in the pores of the metal during the cleaning process prior to plating. To eliminate this breakage which, if it occurs while the user is skiing, often results in serious accidents, I use in my construction a spring of material which in itself is highly corrosion resistant, as, for example,

stainless steel, beryllium copper and other alloys of like characteristics.

The forward ends of rods 20 are connected as at 26 with any desired type of adjustable clamping device. This connector should be so arranged that sufiicient forward movement of rods 20 will take place at the time of clamping to insure a small but material elongation of spring 24.

The form of clamp shown consists of a channel-shaped member 28 screwed or otherwise secured to the ski. The sides of this channel have rearwardly sloping notches 30 cut therein which are adapted to be engaged by the crossbar 32 of the lever 34 to which rods 20 are connected. This form of clamping mechanism makes possible ready adjustment to any size shoe and at the same time stretches spring 24 sufficiently to give the desired tension, as well as automatically looking itself in place when positioned as shown in Fig. 2.

Shifting the location of ring l8 forward or backward on the bar obviously will change the tension exerted on spring 24 as the heel is raised. This is due to the fact that the point about which the heel pivots and the point about which the rod 20 pivots (which is the point of engagement of rod 20 and ring l8) do not coincide. Thus if it is desired to have greater downward force exerted on the heel the ring l8 should be moved to the left in Fig. 2 until by test the desired position is found. If on the other hand, less downward tension is desired the ring l8 should be moved to the right as seen in Fig. 2.

The rods 20, while flexible in the sense that they will bend perceptibly under stress and are not rigid in the ordinary meaning, at the same time offer considerable additional resistance to the upward movement of the heel away from the ski. The rods might be said to be semi-flexible in that they do not bend freely about the fulcrum, yet they do bend varying amounts depending on the force exerted thereon. As the heel is raised and the heel spring 24 is slightly elongated, the rod 20 tends to bend an additional amount about the fulcrum provided by ring l8. However, the force exerted by the spring 24 on rod 20 is insufficient to cause the rod 20 to assume a straight line from the spring to the fulcrum. Rather, the rod 2!] is bent upwardly about the fulcrum and, because of the spring characteristics of the rod, this additional bending, as the heel is further raised, provides means for continually changing the line of force exerted on the heel spring 24 so that the downward pull thereon is increased more than would be the case were a cable or chain or other completely flexible means used in place of rod 20.

From the foregoing, it can be readily seen that the line of force exerted on heel spring 24 when the heel is raised will not pass through the fulcrum provided by ring IE, but instead will extend downwardly below the original fulcrum point. The line of force continually shifts as the heel is raised, to increase the tension on the heel spring and the downward pull on the heel in a very desirable manner. In other words, my construction provides means for progressively shifting rearwardly of the fulcrum the point of intersection of the line of force exerted on the spring and the ski. Because of the resistance to bending by rod 20', the spring not only is elongated more, but the force on the spring is more toward the vertical than is normally the case, with a resulting progressive increase in downward pull on the heel.

It should be noted that in the early stages of raising the heel, the line of force to the spring is in substantially the same direction as the line of force provided by the use of a flexible cable or the like. The rearward shifting of the line of force becomes more pronounced the higher the heel is raised, with a corresponding increase in downward pull.

One further advantage of using my semi-flexible metal rods is that when the heel is raised far enough, as for example, to the position often assumed in the course of a fall, the angle of the line of force exerted on the heel will be sufficiently obtuse with respect to the heel to cause the heel spring to snap out of the heel groove, thus releasing the shoe. This situation is, of course, a direct result of the use of metal rods for connectors.

In some instances it may be considered more desirable to use a strap or other completely flexible member in place of the metal rods 20. In such cases, I substitute for the rods 2|] a strap 36 shown in Fig. which may be adjustable by use of the buckle 38. This strap is conveniently connected to spring 24 by the swiveled snap hook 40 at one end and to the clamping lever 34 by the swivel snap hook 42. In using a strap it is obvious that it would not fit properly within ring [8 so in such cases I substitute for ring 3 the equivalent thereof in the form of the eccentrically constructed loop 44 shown in Fig. 4. Loop 44 like ring I8 may be moved longitudinally along bar II] to the position necessary to give the required tension on spring 24.

It should be pointed out at this time that I contemplate within the scope of my invention any means which is the equivalent of bar I 0 and. ring I B for holding the rods 20 at an angle with respect to spring 24 and lever 34 and which at the same time provides ready means for shifting the point at which bending in rod 20 takes place.

I have also provided means whereby it is possible to change from the down hill hitch, which is the term used in describing a binding designed to urge the heel downwardly against the ski and which is the type of binding already described in this application, to the so-called high hitch which is customarily used in touring. In this type of skiing it is necessary that the heel be raised from the ski at each step and hence it is desirable that the binding in no way impede this action. Therefore I have provided means associated with toe clamps 4 in the form of a wing or projecting portion 48 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 under which pass bars 20 as shown in dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2. When the bars 20 are in this position they are substantially parallel to the ski and when the heel is raised no additional tension is exerted on the heel spring 24. To change the bars 20 from the down hill hitch position to the high hitch position it is merely necessary to disconnect the hooks 26 from lever 34 and then slide the bars 2! rearwardly until they are disengaged from rings l8. Thereafter the bars 20 are reconnected with lever 34 and when. the binding is in operative position as a high hitch the bars 20 will assume the position of the dotted lines in Figs. 1 and 2.

The operation of my device either as a down hill hitch or a high hitch is as follows. The user inserts his shoe within the toe clamps 4, wedging it as far forward as possible. The spring 24 is positioned in the semicircular channel 46 which is customarily found in ski boots. Clamping lever 34, which, at this time, is not engaged LAND ventures.

in the notches is pulled forwardly as far as possible until spring 24 rests against the heel. Lever 34 is then turned with respect to bars 20 to such a position that crossbar 32 is in advance of the right hand ends of bars 20. Crossbar 32 is then caused to engage with the most remote notch 30 that it is possible to reach. Then by forward and downward pressure on the. end of clamping lever 34 the lever pivots about crossbar 32 carrying bars 20 to the right and at the same time stretching spring 24 which is in engagement about the heel. It is believed obvious that when the clamping lever 34 has reached the position shown in Fig. 2, in which situation spring 24 is under considerable tension and slightly elongated the clamping arrangement will automatically retain itself in the position shown. However, as has already been pointed out, any other suitable clamping and tensiomng means would be equally satisfactory for use in my construction, provided of course an adequate range of adjustment is available.

When the shoe is thus secured in position by my binding it will be held in such a way that lateral movement will be prevented, and the heel may be raised as required. There is, however, in the down hill hitc a continuous downward pull exerted on the heel, the degree of pull varying with the location of ring [8 or loop 44. In the high hitch there will be only a forward pull exerted against the heel.

The flexibility of wire rods 20 is such that they bend readily when passing through rings l8 but at the same time they are sufiiciently durable to last without any chance of breakage for an indefinite period.

While I have shown a preferred form of my invention I wish it to: be distinctly understood that I do not intend to be limited thereby but only by the appended claim.

I claim:

In combination a ski binding comprising shoepositioning means adapted to be attached to a ski, means for urging the shoe forwardly and at the same time exerting a downward force on the heel of the shoe, said means comprising a U-shaped coil spring adapted to be positioned in a groove in the heel of the shoe, rods connected to the ends of said spring, fulcrums for said rods, means connected to the other ends of said rods for applying tension to said spring, said rods being held by said fulcrums at positions lower than said rods would normally assume when under tension, said rods and fulcrums providing means for changing the line of force to said spring to a position progressively to the rear of said fulcrum as the heel of the shoe is raised.

THEODORE ELLIOTT. 

